NELSON MANDELA BAY - NMB EXECUTIVE MAYOR ASKS RESIDENTS TO REMAIN CAUTIOUS EVEN AS COVID-19 NUMBERS FALL

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor, Cllr Nqaba Bhanga has called on all residents to be cautiously optimistic as the COVID-19 positive cases continue to fluctuate indicating a decline in the reported positive cases.

Mayor Bhanga said although the decline in numbers was welcomed news, reports were indicating that it was too early to be excited as many residents were on holiday and students were only now coming back into the City.

“We have noted the decline in numbers but we are cautiously optimistic. The Department of Health reported in the Joint Operating Centre meeting held today that we now have 1 049 active cases. A total of 50 054 people have recovered from COVID-19 in our City to date and we are pleased by this as the more than 3 000 deaths we have recorded have left many families broken.”

“The positive cases are currently fluctuating, so we cannot say we are winning just yet. A lot of people will be going to back to work this week, students are also coming back, schools are yet to reopen and already we have noted a number of positive cases in the work places. We are really pleased with the joint efforts and partnerships we have with all the stakeholders in the City as we believe all these efforts are yielding positive results,” said Cllr Bhanga.

A total of 72 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported on Monday across the City with four deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, a total of 286 patients still admitted in both the private and public hospitals and 71 in the Intensive Care Units.

“The second wave has been more aggressive in our City than the first wave. There is some decline in numbers now but we have seen more deaths in the second wave than the first wave. As we are gearing up for the vaccination programme, we continue to call on all our residents to please wear their masks and wash their hands regularly to keep themselves and their families safe,” Mayor Bhanga added.